Gov. Bobby Jindal wasn't just quietly supporting Common Core back in 2012, his staff members actively pushed for a new state law to ease implementation of the academic standards.

"We are so much further down the [Common Core State Standards] road than virtually any other state," Stafford Palmieri, Jindal's chief education policy adviser, wrote to staff at the Louisiana Department of Education in an email Feb. 16, 2012.

Correspondence released to The Times-Picayune | NOLA.com show the Jindal administration, through Palmieri, actively advocating in 2012 for a state law aimed at making the Common Core transition easier. Ironically, the push was being made over the objections of the Louisiana Department of Education officials, also strong supporters of Common Core.

Education department officials worried the 2012 bill would trigger a political fight in the Louisiana Legislature over the academic standards. They had already started to see outcry over Common Core and a related standardized test -- referred to as PARCC -- in some Louisiana communities and didn't want to rock the boat on the issue.

"The more we read this [bill], the more we think this is a HUGE risk and not critical. Leaving current law as it is means that we can proceed with Common Core and PARCC. Although current law is outdated, there's nothing preventing the move to Common Core and PARCC," wrote Erin Bendily, the education department's legislative lobbyist, in an email to Palmieri on Feb. 16, 2012.

But Palmieri insisted the education department should move forward with the Common Core bill. At that time, she said the governor's office would back up Common Core supporters in the Legislature if opposition to the standards materialized.

"I frankly don't foresee a controversy over this and if there is one and we come out swinging about how impt [sic] this is that helps not hurts our case. We stand very firmly behind CCSS as you know," writes Palmieri in response to Bendily's email in 2012.

The exchange highlights a stark contrast between the Jindal administration's stance Common Core today and its take on the educational benchmarks just two years ago. The Common Core standards, which have become unpopular with conservatives, lay out what students are supposed to be able to accomplish in mathematics and English at the end of each grade.

In June, amidst the growing public opposition to Common Core, Jindal announced plans to get Louisiana out of using the academic standards and PARCC through executive action. The Louisiana Education Department, lead by superintendent John White, and the state school board still support the academic standards and are fighting Jindal's efforts to scrap the standards and PARCC test.

The governor and state school board are likely to end up in court. Their standoff means students are due back in classrooms next month and teachers don't yet know what standardized test will measure their progress come spring.

Jindal's recent objections to Common Core and PARCC have revolved around the federal government's participating in the development of the standards and test. "Proponents weren't up front about federal involvement in PARCC and Common Core. Now that we understand the federal overreach involved, we need to slow down and make the right decision," said Jindal in a written statement last month.

But Washington D.C.'s role in Common Core and PARCC was discussed openly back in 2012, particularly in relation to the bill Palmieri had been pushing on behalf of the Jindal administration. Education officials openly discussed the federal government's development of the PARCC test when presenting that Common Core legislation two years ago.

"Louisiana is part of a consortium of states called PARCC. There are several states that came together through an initiative that the U.S. Department of Education has sponsored to update assessments to align with the Common Core state standards," said Bendily, when talking about the Jindal-backed bill with Louisiana House Education Committee members in April of 2012.

The Jindal administration has argued that the governor changed his opinion about Common Core after seeing how the standards were being put into practice. He had originally thought states would have more control over the curriculum, according to staff.

"Common Core is not what we thought it would be -- a set of state standards that would be controlled by states. The reality is that what's tested is what's taught and the new federally funded assessments that came with Common Core have allowed the Feds to co-opt the entire effort. To paraphrase the great Rocky Balboa, I guess what I'm trying to say is, if I can change, and you can change, everybody can change," wrote Palmieri Monday (July 14), when asked about the emails.